Joinsupermoms

There are doubts to the assumption that money buys happiness, and we’re about to dispel them.

Money does buy happiness…when you buy the right things with it. And only now am I finding the courage to write about this. That’s right, I’ve been ashamed and perhaps mostly unsure about admitting it, but money does buy happiness.

Depending on what culture or religion you’re raised or live in, you might be taught to live minimally. Even frugally and in self-denial. While this is not necessarily wrong, the trouble is it could limit your view of the world. To you, money ends up being the villain and people with lots of it often appear as self-centered and unhappy.

What Happiness is Not

I thought that happiness is a thing waiting to be found or a condition waiting to be attained. Happiness for me turned out to be pieces of a pricey puzzle called Achievement.  It’s the most beautiful optical illusion because everyone’s puzzle spells a unique word, but the pieces are always the same so it’s certainly worth it to find your puzzle and know its price.

In my puzzle, each piece has a name and fits perfectly into the other to form the spell Achievement. I’ve been finding, investing in, and fixing my pieces. I found Contentment and it fit into Motivation which I had already fit into Health, Education and Drive…I keep finding and investing in pieces and my Achievement puzzle is looking just great!

Do I sometimes act self-centred and seem unhappy? Yes. Because investing in a piece of this puzzle can mean a certain degree of healthy self-centredness but it’s also because I’m still fixing my puzzle’s pieces. Like most of us, I’m still a work in progress.

I want to share the secrets of this happiness with you. The world is truly a better place with happy people. So, I bought my happiness and here are 5 ways how.

Education

Education. This is probably the best thing I bought myself. I understood that poverty is a state of mind, and a poor mind buys the wrong things with money and misses out even when the best opportunities present themselves. 

It took soaring above mere literacy and developing my ability to analyze and be objective. I had to travel and experience feelings and events that would become a core of me. Traveling as close as my backyard garden and as far as across the ocean to a different culture and language. I had to live and learn both within my comfort zone and with other people through their eyes to understand how small my world was.

Experiencing things as banal as getting my nails fixed and as complex as watching a surgery. Then, stepping away from it all, while holding on to my core values. Soaking in and embracing unique parts of each experience made a new, more open, more analytical, more educated me.

Transferable Skills

I learned a skill and I keep upskilling. There’s my core skill as an interpreter, but there are supporting skills such as learning new languages, coding, and even studying Law. There’s nothing like challenging your brain to itself. It is after all mostly fat. My first motivation was that if I could learn hard enough, I could eat all the ice-cream I wanted because I would essentially be burning fat and needing to restore it. That’s not scientifically proven, so do not try it at home…at least not for that reason.

The main reason you should invest in upskilling is that it builds your confidence in yourself, improves your self-sustainability and reduces your dependency. It could also pay the bills if you hone your skill well enough. Most importantly it shows your kids that everyone can take care of themselves. They don’t need to be a statistic. They don’t need to need anyone financially. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, children in single-parent families are more likely to live in poverty. This statistic essentially applies in every country. Pride yourself in knowing you can change that narrative.

Health

I invest in my health. This could easily be the most expensive piece of my Achievement puzzle to invest in. But believe it, health is literally wealth. It’s another true-to-life cliché that you can’t get enough of. Do get routine checks and invest in basic medical equipment. Things like a blood pressure monitor, a thermometer, a glucometer can literally save your life just because they can signal a problem early on, but also because they help you understand your body signals better and tell you what your normal ranges are. Do develop and maintain a routine of regular quality sleep.

This could mean investing in a mattress that meets your comfort needs, herbal infusions, music, lighting… basically anything to find that piece of your puzzle. Good genes help a great deal, and we can’t always bank on great health, but we can make the best of even the most difficult health condition if we invest in a healthy lifestyle, diet and practices. Yes, exercise makes a difference. If you can’t afford a coach or to join a community gym, consider starting a personal daily routine that ensures you’re challenging your heart, muscles and joints to flexibility and endurance.

Relationships

Deepen Relationships. Don’t just stop at meet at greet. And this applies to family relationships. Especially family relationships. Relationships thrive on experiences and moments together and that means your time. And because time is money, this is yet another thing that money absolutely buys. While you can’t quantify the material things you do in your time with family and friends, it does deepen a relationship to share a coffee, tea or…and I won’t get tired of saying this, an ice-cream. Of course, adapt your material purchases to the precious things that make your moments more memorable and be sure to do this as often as you reasonably can.

Outsourcing

I outsource necessary chores. This means I pay for anything beyond basic cleaning, fumigation, business accounting and taxes…basically anything that would significantly impede my ability to do any of the things listed earlier. This is extremely valuable for me when I think time is money and health is wealth, the things I could be doing with my time besides deep cleaning the house every day (because I’m a neat freak) or organising invoices.

There are many more things that money buys which contribute to the puzzle that defines happiness. Have you also been purchasing your pieces with money? What does your optical illusion puzzle spell? Join our community, share your experiences and get first access to more stories.